Lost
by SilverMidnight52
Summary: When Hetty brings in a new member or the team how does everyone else take it?
1. Callen

I own nothing. Not much cussing. I honestly can't remember if I used cuss words or not. Hmmm...Review and Enjoy!

* * *

"Mr. Callen," Hetty said calmly, "I'm aware that this is not how things are normally done, but this is my decision."

I continued to stare at Hetty like she had gone insane. Anytime she brought someone into my team she had us meet them during a case to show us they were qualified. Never before had she just said that someone was coming in.

I didn't know what I was supposed to believe. Hetty wasn't really the type of person that would change something she'd done for years for no reason. Who was this man?

"Miss Lange?" a voice said in a strong Australian accent.

Turning around I saw a man that kind of reminded me of Deeks. The only differences were his black hair and black three-piece suit. That and the Rainbow Care Bear bag he had.

Hetty slowly stood up and made her way around her desk until she was standing next to the man. A small smile bloomed to her lips before she looked at me and motioned to the man.

"Mr. Callen," Hetty said with a slight nod, "This is…What name did you settle on?"

"Hatter," the man said softly.

"Alright, Mr. Callen, this is Hatter. Hatter, I'm sure you remember everything I've told you."

Hatter nodded his head calmly before turning to me. We stared at each other for a moment until I offered my hand to the man. It took another moment but Hatter slipped his hand into mine.

As I shook his hand I couldn't help but wonder what Hetty had meant about him settling on a name. Hatter obviously wasn't his real name, but why did he have to change it?

Hetty would tell me if he went into protective custody so that wasn't it. No, this wasn't because of the government. This had something to do because of the type of person he was.

I knew that Eric was brought in because it was this or going to jail. I was always glad he chose us. From day one though I had been told the real reason why he was with us.

"Come," Hetty said making her up to the operations room, "It's time for you to meet everyone else."

Hatter nodded his head and motioned for me to go ahead of him. I continued to stare at him until I realized that he wasn't going to move. Okay, so he didn't like having people behind him.

When we got up to the operations room I saw that the entire team was there. Normally everyone was talking about something while they waited, but this time not even Deeks was saying anything.

"Everyone," Hetty said calling everyone's attention to her, "This is Hatter. You'll be showing him how it is working in a team. Hatter, this is Sam Hanna, Kensi Blye, Eric Beal, Neal Jones, and Marty Deeks."

"Hello," Hatter said with a nod of his head.

Seeing everyone look between each other I wondered what they were going to say. None us liked people being brought into our team. This time was different then before though.

"Hatter?" Deeks asked smiling, "What's that short for?"

"Mad Hatter," Hatter said staring at him.

"You're parents named you 'Mad Hatter'?"

"No."

Deeks shared a look with Kensi before nodding his head. Hatter didn't seem to want to talk and that made me more concerned. Hetty wanted this man to be part of the team and he wasn't willing.

As I thought more and more I zeroed in on something that Hetty had said. She wanted us to show Hatter how a team worked. That meant that he had never worked on a team before.

All of our missions worked because we worked as a team. We knew how the other person worked and, while we sometimes questioned each other, we basically knew what they would do in what situation.

The more I thought about bringing Hatter into our team the more I realized just how dangerous it was going to be. I couldn't stop myself from wondering what Hetty was thinking.

"Do you know how to fight?" Sam asked eyeing the man.

"No," Hatter said calmly, "I have no need to fight."

"Why?"

Hatter looked at the ground before bringing his bag forward and hugging it tightly. When Hatter looked up again I was surprised to see how much the man had changed in those few seconds.

"P-lease," Hatter said in a soft Russian accent, "P-Please, do-don't h-hurt me. I…Did-Didn't k-know. I-I swear."

Before anyone could say anything we watched as the man in front of us transformed back to himself. Or who he was pretending to be. So this was why he was going by Hatter.

"I have no reason," Hatter said back to an Australian accent.

"You're a thief," Eric said surprised.

"I prefer grifter."

Turning towards Hetty I wondered what she was thinking. Making a deal with a hacker was one thing, but who knew what Hatter had done to get what he wanted. Better yet who knew who this man was.

In all the time I have worked for Hetty I rarely questioned her. Usually when I did though she gave me some reason why I was being left out and told me that as she as she could I'd know.

Now I had no idea what she was thinking and I did not like it. This was my team she was messing with and while I knew that she'd never do anything to hurt us on purpose I couldn't stop wondering.

"I know what you're thinking, Mr. Callen," Hetty said staring at me, "And the answers no. Hatter is not on the team because he was caught. In fact, he's never been caught. At least, according to records he's never been caught."

"Hetty," I said crossing my arms.

"When Hatter was younger, about ten, I caught him in my home stealing some jewelry. As it turns out he had stolen from me before without my knowledge. In fact, I never knew about the theft until he informed me. I made an agreement with him. If by the time he was he was thirty he had yet to go straight I'd give him something he's never had before."

"What's that?"

"A home."

Hatter turned to Hetty in surprise. Maybe he didn't know what she was thinking when she invited him here. Though I couldn't believe he has successfully stolen from Hetty.

"Miss Lange," Hatter said his hand tightening around his bag.

"I know you don't like the idea, Hatter," Hetty said staring at him, "But this is what you need."

"This is why you never gave me the details of our arrangement. You played me."

"Mr. …"

"Do not say that name! That child no longer exists, Miss Lange. Maybe he never did, but I can assure you I am not him in anyway what so ever."

Before Hetty could say anything Hatter left the room angrily. Whatever Hetty was about to say must have brought up something in the man. A sadness filled Hetty's eyes as she slowly turned around and left the room as well.

Turning back to the team I shook my head slightly. I had no idea what I was supposed to believe right now. But how much could you believe when you were dealing with a grifter?

"Callen," Kensi said staring at me, "What do we do?"

"I don't know," I said honestly, "But I'm going to talk to Hatter."

"He doesn't seem to want to talk."

"Maybe not."

Turning away from the team I made my way downstairs and started to look for Hatter. I was the team leader and Hatter was part of my team now. That meant it was my job to look over him.

I walked around the building for ten minutes before I finally found Hatter. He was in the gym by the time I found him and it looked like he had punched something causing him to hurt his hand.

"Here," I said kneeling next to him, "Let me see."

"Why?" Hatter said glaring at me.

"It's what a team does."

Hatter gave me another confused look but let me take his hand into mine. In that moment I could tell that he truly was lost by everything that had happened in the last half hour.

As I looked over his hand I wondered what type of person Hatter was. It was hard to get anything past Hetty yet it seems like the man in front of me stolen from her multiple times.

"You've never been part of a team before?" I asked calmly.

"I've never been part of anything before," Hatter said softly, "There was never any place…Anyone…Not even myself."


	2. Sam

I own nothing. Not much cussing. I honestly can't remember if I used cuss words or not. Hmmm...Review and Enjoy!

* * *

"How is everything going, Mr. Hanna?" Hetty asked walking into the operations room.

Looking away from the monitors I had been watching for the past month I stared at Hetty for a moment before turning back. G. and Hatter were on a case together and so far they were alone in this.

The two of them were working on getting information on a drug smuggling ring. So far three Marines had O. and ten others had come up positive for heroin in the past two months.

Hatter was the one that was calling the shots, but they were making it so that Callen was the one talking. They also made it seem like Hatter was a little off his rocker making him all that more dangerous.

"Dangerous," I said calmly, "Hatter doesn't know how to fight. He doesn't know how to use a gun. How is he supposed to have Callen's back if this goes bad?"

"When this is over," Hetty said staring at me, "Teach him."

"Teach him?"

"Yes, you just said that it is dangerous without Hatter knowing how to fight or fire a gun. Teach him."

Staring at Hetty as she looked back at the screens room I wondered what she was thinking. She was putting the team in danger. She was putting my partner in danger. That was something I'd never thought she'd do.

Then there was Callen. He just said okay to everything. He willingly went in with Hatter as his partner knowing that the man couldn't defend himself if something ended up going bad.

I honestly didn't know what I was supposed to do. Hatter came out of nowhere and for some reason Callen felt the need to bring the man under his wing. He never trusted anyone.

No there was something about Hatter. Something that let him get past not only Callen's walls, but Hetty's as well. Two people that never trusted a person until they had proof.

"Mr. Hanna," Hetty said softly, "Hatter is a…An odd type of person."

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"He's a lost person."

Before I could ask her what she meant my eyes were drawn to the screen. I felt my heart stop when I saw that someone was standing over Callen with a gun pointed to his head.

Everything seemed to slow down as Hatter glared at the man. His whole persona changed once more. The sweet, slightly demented, little boy was gone. Now he looked like he was a vicious murderer.

The man with the gun slowly stepped back while lowering the gun. I had never seen someone be able to do that without a weapon of their own. Maybe Hatter was right. Maybe he didn't need to know how to fight.

I watched as Callen slowly stood up and turned to the man that once had the gun. He picked it up and handed it to Hatter who took it, the demented smile back on his lips, and held it against the Teddy Bear that was in his arms.

Callen placed a few punches against the man before Hatter stepped forward and said something. The man nodded his head quickly and took off with his two partners leaving Callen and Hatter there.

Without saying anything a word to each other Hatter handed Callen a phone and the gun. Nodding slightly in thanks Callen tucked the gun into his pants before calling someone.

"Lange," Hetty said into her phone, "Ah. We saw Mr. Callen….Yes, Mr. Callen, Mr. Beal was able to get us video…Okay, I will tell Mr. Hanna and we'll get you out of there."

Hanging up the phone Hetty turned to me with that glint in her eyes. I knew that it was time for this operation to come to an end. And I had to admit that it went a lot better then I had thought.

I still wasn't all that sure about Hatter, but he had just saved my partner. At least that's what it looked like. I really needed to get together with Callen and find out what happened.

Sighing I went down to the bullpen while thinking of a plan to get everyone out safely. That was my main concern right now. Not someone random guy that I didn't know.

I couldn't help but think about him though and about what Hetty had said. What did she mean when she said he was lost? What did it take for a person to get lost? And how did the person find themselves?

Honestly, I had no idea. It was one thing with Callen. I mean it wasn't like it was his fault or anything that he didn't know who is family was or that he didn't know his first name.

Hatter obvious had a first name. He got angry when Hetty tried to say it, but it was his choice to stop going by it. The life style he chose even made it impossible to go by his real name.

All of this was his choice though. Is that what Hetty was getting at? Why she had brought this man into our team? Because she thought he'd somehow help Callen or Callen would help him?

I didn't know what I was supposed to do or say to that. They weren't the same in anyway. They were opposites. Though oddly, it did make sense that they would be able to help each other.

"Hey Sam," Kensi said when I got into the bullpen, "What's up?"

"They got everything we needed," I said looking between her and Deeks, "It's time to pull them out."

"Good. Is it sad that I wish they'd stay under for awhile longer?"

"What?"

It wasn't like Kensi to think something like that. Normally all of us hated when someone on the team was out in the field. It didn't matter who. We wanted them safe with us in the bullpen.

"It's just…" Kensi said sighing, "I want to know more about Hatter. I thought maybe we'd see something about his personality, but nothing. Right, Sam?"

"He saved Callen's life," I said softly.

"What?"

As I explained everything that had just happened to Kensi and Deeks I thought about what she had said. We knew nothing about the man that was now part of our team, but he was on the team.

From what Hetty had said about him, which was very little, he had never done something like this before. He was used to being alone and only having to worry about himself.

Hatter was thirty. How did he go so long without another person? What about his family? Surely they had been part of his life. At least some sort of guardian had to be there.

Unless he was truly alone. Just like Callen had been. Sure he went from home to home when he was in the system, but none of them were his home. He was completely alone.

Was that what had happened to Hatter? Had he been part of the foster system? As much as I wanted to know the answer I knew there was no point in even saying it aloud to anyone.

Without Hatter's real name then there was nothing we could go on. Unless, of course, I got DNA or fingerprints, but I would never do something like that to a teammate.

"Sam," Deeks said staring at me.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Let's go get them out of there."

Nodding my head I lead the rest of the team to get everything ready. The operation was a lot smaller then we had thought, but they were highly efficient in everything that they had done.

By the time we got to there building they were meeting at my mind was completely blank. This was all about getting my men out without getting either of them into danger.

Nothing ever went according to plan though. As gunfight ran through the building I watched as Callen pushed Hatter behind some crates so he wouldn't get hit while pulling out his gun.

A month of knowing the man and Callen was already protective. Hatter was part of the team and there was nothing anyone inside or outside of the team was going to do about it.

"Everyone good?" Callen asked when the last man went down.

Hearing everyone call out their 'okay' or 'fine's I made my way over to Callen and Hatter and kneeled next to the man just to double check that he was okay in, what I hoped, was his first gunfight.

When I saw that he was in fact okay I helped him up and smiled slightly. Hetty was right about what she said. He needed to learn how to fight and I was the one that was going to teach him that.

After telling Hatter to meet me in the gym around six in the morning the next day I turned to Callen who smiled. Somehow he already cared for Hatter and I was going to support that.

"Wait," Hatter said as we started to make our way out of the building, "Has anyone seen my bear?"


	3. Deeks

I own nothing. Not much cussing. I honestly can't remember if I used cuss words or not. Hmmm...Review and Enjoy!

* * *

"Deeks," Hatter said in greeting.

Nodding my head I sat next to him in the bullpen and looked over him. I'd known Hatter for maybe two months now and I had to say that I knew little to nothing about the man.

Truthfully, the only thing that was predictable about him was his wardrobe. Today it was a black and purple three-piece suit though he wasn't wearing the jacket and, of course, a small white teddy bear in his arms.

That was something that I had been wondering about. Ever since our first meeting he had a bear with him. Even during ops he had some kind of bear in his arms no matter what.

"These yours?" I asked picking a pack of cigarette's off the floor.

"Yes," Hatter said taking them from me, "Thank you."

Looking over the man I couldn't help but think that he looked sad. I might not know anything about him, but I hated the idea that he was hurt and not knowing if I could help.

Hatter was an odd person. He never really talked all that much and if he did I was sure that he only did because he was forced to do so. That being said most of the time he didn't have to talk.

"Where are you going?" I asked when he stood up.

Hatter held the cigarette's up slightly before motioning to the door. Nodding my head I stood up and started to follow him. It would be easier to talk to him if we were alone.

As we walked Hatter sent me a confused look, but didn't say a word to me. We walked away from the building for a few minutes before Hatter stopped and pulled out his cigarette's.

"That's going to kill you," I said leaning against a wall.

"Remember my job?" Hatter asked calmly.

"You think you're going to die on the job?"

"I think I'm not going to stop until I'm dead."

Staring at Hatter I wondered what he was thinking. I had known a lot of people that had started stealing things, but none of them had the same mindset that the man before me did.

If I had to guess I'd say that he truly did like what he did. Was that possible though? Was it possible to be in love with something where you literally became someone else so much that you lost who you really were?

In some ways it made sense to me. I did the same thing, but at the end of the op I was back to being myself. Hatter didn't even have that comfort. He was always hiding who he was.

"Why do you carry around a bear?" I asked wanting to break the silence.

Hatter looked up at me with a completely calm face. That was another thing I hated. He was always keeping his expressions completely school so I never could tell what was going on in his mind.

Right now though I needed to know something. I needed to know why Hetty, Callen, and, now apparently, Sam trusted the man in front of me. I needed to make sure that their trust was well placed.

"My little sister," Hatter said taking a drag from his cigarette, "She used to carry them around. Never left the house without one. I guess I want something to remind me of her."

"Remind you?" I asked confused, "She's dead, isn't she?"

"Leukemia. She was four. I was six."

Smiling sadly at Hatter I nodded my head. He was so young when he lost his sister and obviously she meant a lot to him. There was nothing he could have done though. Which probably made her death all that much worse."

The man before me used to have a family. He used to have someone he loved with all of his heart. And he lost that. That must have been when he began to lose whoever he had once been.

Now look at him. It was like he was completely lost. Maybe that's why Hetty wanted him to be part of the team. She didn't want to watch him wonder around alone anymore.

Alright, that was no problem. If the three of them trusted him then I saw no problem trusting him myself. I just had to find something that the two of us had in common.

"Do you surf?" I asked casually.

"No," Hatter said shaking his head, "I've always wanted to learn though."

Grinning happily I knew that I had something I could bond over with the man before me. Sam taught him how to fight and I'd teach him how to surf. That would be a good balance.

"I can teach you," I said happily.

"You'd do that?" Hatter asked confused.

"Yeah, you're part of the team, Hatter. So, you want to learn how to surf?"

Hatter gave me the slightest smile telling me that he did like the idea. Alright, a little bonding between Hatter and I. That was exactly what Hetty wanted and what I wanted.

I hadn't thought much about it before, but when Hatter came onto the team I hadn't liked it. This team was my family and Hatter didn't even grasp that concept. I didn't know what to think.

Now that I had seen him in action during a case and had talked to him I realized how wrong I was. Hatter did grasp the concept of family. He just didn't know what he was feeling.

"Alright," I said clapping my hands, "When do you want to do this?"

"Whenever," Hatter said shrugging, "I don't have a board."

"You can use one of mine until we figure out whether or not you're actually good at it."

Once again Hatter gave me a slight smile that was gone almost as soon as it appeared. I wonder what a full smile looked like. One day I was going to get him to show me that. I wasn't going to stop until I did.

"Guys," Nell said walking up to us, "Hetty wants you both up in Ops"

"On our way," I said nodding to her, "So, Hatter, met me here tomorrow around six."


	4. Kensi

I own nothing. Not much cussing. I honestly can't remember if I used cuss words or not. Hmmm...Review and Enjoy!

* * *

"Kensi," Hatter said offering me a cup of coffee.

With a smile I took it from him while he went to hand the other coffee's to the rest of the team. As I took a sip I was surprised to find that it wasn't coffee at all. It was apple cider.

It was close to Christmas by now, but I honestly hadn't expected him to do something like that. The action was really rather sweet. I liked the random actions of niceness that he did.

Since Hetty first brought Hatter into our team, almost three months ago, I was wary about him. I didn't even know what I was supposed to think about the new man at all.

Everyone on the team though seemed to think that he was to be trusted. I did trust my team, but I was still holding back on getting to know the guy hoping that maybe he was going to be gone before I had to.

No, Hatter was here to stay and now it was my turn to get to know him. Especially since he and I were about to go out on our first Op together. I needed to know we were on the same page.

How was I supposed to do that though? Since I had met him he had only ever talked to me to say my name when he offered me something. He didn't want to get to know me.

Sighing I looked around the bullpen and saw that Hatter was heading towards the gym. I let myself smile before I followed him the cider still in my hands. Now was the perfect time to talk to him.

When I got into the gym Hatter had placed his purple and black teddy bear on the ground and was setting up a mannequin so he could train. Ever since Sam started teaching him how to fight he's been doing this once a day for an hour or two.

"Hey Hatter," I said walking closer to him, "Thanks for the cider."

"You're welcome," Hatter said not looking at me.

Hatter continued to move around the gym like I wasn't there. Okay, it was going to be harder to talk to Hatter then I had thought. But I knew that I had to get to know him somehow.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked watching as he walked around.

"Sure," Hatter said nodding slightly.

"Do you not like me?"

When I said that Hatter seemed to freeze. Slowly he turned to face me. Though his face was completely blank I could tell that he wasn't all that pleased by what I had just said.

"It's complicated," Hatter said looking away from me once again.

I watched as Hatter seemed to draw into himself once again. It had taken a long time, but he was slowly starting to show us more emotions and more about himself. Hell, we knew that he hated black olives.

If he said that it was complicated I knew it was exactly that. I wasn't going to let it go there though. No, I needed to know what was going on in that mans head and I wasn't going to stop until I did.

Going about it the direct way obviously wasn't the right thing to do. He didn't want to talk about it. I was going to have to trick him into telling me. How do you trick a grifter?

No, I couldn't trick him. You don't try to run a play on your own team. Even if that teammate was hiding basically everything from me. Okay, back to the direct approach then.

"Hatter," I said looking for the words.

"You remind me of my mom," Hatter said his voice barely above a whisper, "She died a long time ago."

"I'm sorry."

Hatter shrugged his shoulders slightly like he was trying to get rid of everything he was feeling. Alright, he loved his family. That was a good thing to know about a person.

"Her and my dad were in a car wreck," Hatter said his eyes finally looking at mine, "I was seven. Kensi, you remind me of her. Right down to your sweet tooth."

I couldn't help but smile at that. He wasn't avoiding me because he disliked me. He was doing that because I reminded him of someone he loved. I hated that she was dead, but still I was glad in a way.

"My Dad died too," I said softly, "I don't know what happened to him."

"I'm sorry," Hatter said shrugging, "We'll figure it out though. I mean, that's what teams do, right?"

Staring at Hatter I saw that he was actually asking whether or not that's what teams did. He had no idea. We were going to show him though. All of that was going to change. We were going to change that.

"Tell me about her?" I asked taking a seat in the middle of the floor.

Hatter looked around uncomfortably for a moment before awkwardly sitting next to me. He reached over and pulled a wallet out of the bunny bag. A small smile came to his lips as he moved over to show me something.

It was a picture of his parents. Surprisingly, I actually did look a lot like his mother. The only real different was her amazingly bright blue eyes that stared lovingly at the man next to her.

He had a lighter skin tone then the woman next to him, but his eyes were a warm honey color. His black hair was cut short to his head though in this sunlight it seemed to take on a blue hue.

Like Hatter the man was wearing a black three-piece suit while the woman was wearing a simple white dress that was highlighted with black lace around the neck. They looked so happy together.

"Her name was Elizabeth, but Dad always called her Lizzy," Hatter said softly, "His name was Chase. They met in college. I don't remember what they did, but they didn't make a lot of money."

"They look happy," I said smiling.

"Yeah, they were. I remember once Dad tried to convince Mom to buy us a dog. Dad…"

Listening to Hatter talk about his parents I realized that we weren't just bring him into our little family, but we were giving his family back to him. This is what Hetty had wanted. Him to remember who he was.


	5. Eric & Nell

I own nothing. Not much cussing. I honestly can't remember if I used cuss words or not. Hmmm...Review and Enjoy!

* * *

"What do you think, Eric?" Nell asked looking down at the bullpen with me.

The team was down there. Everyone, including Hatter. I could only guess that she was talking about him. She already knew how I felt about everyone else on the team just like I knew how she felt.

I didn't know what I was supposed to say though. It had been a little over four months since he joined our little family and I still had no idea what I thought about the man.

Shouldn't I know by now? Of course by now I would have tried to find him online by now. After a warning look from Hetty had told me that it wouldn't be a very good idea at all.

"I don't know," I said honestly, "You?"

"I like him," Nell said nodding her head, "He's odd, but very caring. I mean, every Monday he brings everyone coffee. Including us."

"True. He just doesn't talk a lot."

"No, but he has everyone's trust and he's good on Ops."

"But who is he?"

Nell turned to me with a frown on her face. I could tell that she had thought about that before, but like then she had no idea. That question must have her worried as much as it had me.

"Look," Nell said pointing down, "Hatter's going outside. What do you say we go talk to him?"

Before I could say anything Nell was halfway down the stairs. I looked around me hoping someone had seen that, but when I saw no one was there I hurried down to follow Nell.

I couldn't let her follow the man alone. Given I knew that she could take care of herself and if we did end up getting in trouble she was going to be protecting me. Still I wasn't going to let her go alone.

When I got outside I saw Nell and Hatter standing there in silence. I looked between them with wide eyes before seeing Nell motion for me to follow as Hatter turned and started to walk down the sidewalk.

"What are you doing?" Nell asked as we walked.

"Errand," Hatter said turning down a street.

Nodding her head Nell looked back at me. I was walking a little ways behind them and it seemed like she didn't like that. Of course when Hatter suddenly stopped and caused me to run into him I knew he didn't like it either.

"You want to know something about me so you can trust me," Hatter said not looking back at us.

"Basically," Nell said nodding her head.

"Since when does the older sibling do anything for his little siblings?"

Before either of us could say anything Hatter once again made his way down the street. I looked between the retreating form and Nell and saw a happy smile appear on her face.

"We're his little siblings," Nell said happily.

"Guess we are," I said nodding, "We should get back."


	6. Hetty

I own nothing. Not much cussing. I honestly can't remember if I used cuss words or not. Hmmm...Review and Enjoy!

* * *

"What happened, Hetty?" Callen said rushing up to me with the rest of the team not far behind him.

Looking up at the man I could see the devastation written on not only his face, but on everyone else's as well. They were hoping that the phone call was just some joke being played.

I wished I could tell them that it was. Sadly, that wasn't true. We were in the hospital because someone had in fact tried to kill the newest member of our little family. Hatter.

The man I had brought in with hopes of showing him just how wonderful a family was. He was now lying on an operating table as the surgeons tried to fix the stab wounds that now littered his body.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Callen," I said softly.

"Hetty," Deeks said his eyes wide.

I knew that the team was looking towards me to tell them something, but truly I had no idea. The doctors had yet to come out to tell me anything. Even the doctors that I was friends with hadn't come out.

Whatever damage that was done to Hatter's body was worse then they had let on when I was called. Now it was my job to tell the people I had basically forced the poor man on that he might die.

In the end though I knew that it wasn't my fault. Hatter had been attacked by a man he had met long before he was part of this team. One that had wanted revenge. A revenge he got.

"He's going to make it, right Hetty?" Nell asked looking between me and the closed door.

"I don't know," I said shaking my head.

"And the person that did this?"

"Hatter killed him. Seems your lessons paid off, Mr. Hanna. Hatter got off one shot when he was lying there. Killed the man instantly."

Sam looked a mix between pride and sadness. He had known that Hatter needed this set of skills, but that didn't mean he wanted him to ever have to use that particular set of skills.

Slowly everyone started to make their ways to different parts of the waiting room. Callen going to the windows, Kensi pacing the floor, Sam sitting in a set of chairs against the wall, and Nell and Eric sitting in chairs on the opposite wall.

This is what happened when any of the team was hurt. All of us went into our own little worlds wondering what we could have done to help whomever was hurt hoping to stop the guilt from filling us.

What they didn't get was how much they had helped Hatter. Hatter was lost and alone. He would have died that way if I hadn't made that deal with him. No, even if he died he'd be happy with how things went.

"Family of Theodore Cross?" a doctor said walking out of the doors his face showing just how tired he was.

"That's us," I said everyone's attention turning towards me at the mention of Hatter's given name, "Doctor, is he going to be alright?"

* * *

**END!**


End file.
